Lower East Side Initiative to Celebrate Its 100th Mural Painted on Store Gates

LOWER EAST SIDE, NY — A hundred murals have been painted on store gates over just two years on the Lower East Side — and no one is complaining. They're giving tours, actually.

The murals are part of the 100 Gates program, an initiative by the Lower East Side Partnership in which street artists paint murals over stores' metal gates to prevent illegal graffiti in the neighborhood.

The program's 100th mural will be completed Wednesday, Sept. 14, a milestone they will celebrate by providing a self-guided tour through the neighborhood's new murals — and $3 Tiger Beer specials along the way.

The 100th mural expected to be finished in the middle of next week is by street artist L’Amour Supreme outside of Katz's Deli.

The self-guided tour through the Lower East Side goes from Sept. 15 to 18. The $3 Tiger Beers will be provided at restaurants and bars, including An Choi, Dimes, Fung Tu, the Late Late, the Lucky Bee, Mission Cantina, Nom Wah Tea Parlor and Sam’s Spring Roll, according to the Lo-Down.

The program began in 2014 when it received a $30,000 grant from the Neighborhood Challenge Initiative, which is sponsored by the city's Department of Small Business Services.

Keep in mind the best times of the day to see the gates are when stores are closed, so mornings and evenings. Just follow the map the program put together:

Here's a Foursquare tour.

Image via Shutterstock